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A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
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AN ACT
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relating to the creation of the criminal offense of residential |
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picketing. |
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BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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SECTION 1. Sections 42.04(a) and (c), Penal Code, are |
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amended to read as follows: |
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(a) If conduct that would otherwise violate Section |
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42.01(a)(5) (Unreasonable Noise), 42.03 (Obstructing Passageway), |
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[or] 42.055 (Funeral Service Disruptions), or 42.056 (Residential |
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Picketing) consists of speech or other communication, of gathering |
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with others to hear or observe such speech or communication, or of |
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gathering with others to picket or otherwise express in a |
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nonviolent manner a position on social, economic, political, or |
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religious questions, the actor must be ordered to move, disperse, |
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or otherwise remedy the violation prior to the actor's [his] arrest |
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if the actor [he] has not yet intentionally harmed the interests of |
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others which those sections seek to protect. |
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(c) It is a defense to prosecution under Section |
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42.01(a)(5), 42.03, [or] 42.055, or 42.056: |
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(1) that in circumstances in which this section |
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requires an order no order was given; |
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(2) that an order, if given, was manifestly |
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unreasonable in scope; or |
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(3) that an order, if given, was promptly obeyed. |
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SECTION 2. Chapter 42, Penal Code, is amended by adding |
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Section 42.056 to read as follows: |
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Sec. 42.056. RESIDENTIAL PICKETING. (a) In this section: |
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(1) "Dwelling" means any structure or part of a |
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structure that is occupied as, or designed or intended for |
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occupancy as, a residence by one or more individuals. |
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(2) "Picketing" means: |
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(A) standing, sitting, or repeated walking, |
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riding, driving, or other similar action by a person displaying or |
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carrying a banner, placard, or sign; |
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(B) engaging in loud singing, chanting, |
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whistling, or yelling, with or without noise amplification through |
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a device such as a bullhorn or microphone; or |
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(C) blocking access to a dwelling. |
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(b) A person commits an offense if the person engages in |
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picketing before or about the dwelling of any individual with the |
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intent to harass or disturb the individual in the individual's |
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dwelling. |
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(c) An offense under this section is a Class B misdemeanor. |
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(d) If conduct constituting an offense under this section |
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also constitutes an offense under another law, the actor may be |
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prosecuted under this section, the other law, or both. |
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SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023. |